Do we understand galaxies really?

Lead Research Organisation: University of Hertfordshire
Department Name: School of Physics, Astronomy and Maths

Abstract

Marc, please complete this summary section

Publications

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Studentship Projects

Project Reference Relationship Related To Start End Student Name
ST/R504786/1 01/10/2017 31/01/2022
1957028 Studentship ST/R504786/1 01/10/2017 28/02/2021 Thomas Spriggs
 
Title A novel approach to fitting unresolved point sources in integral field data (3D data: x, y and wavelength as dimensions) 
Description When fitting a spectrum, with emission peaks, you are limited in the spatial information. When you fit a spatially unresolved point source, for the intensity, you are uninformed about emission lines. Whereas it was common practise to fit the emission lines for intensity, and then map that onto a two dimensional grid, with intensities assigned to the associated pixel, I present a novel method where I combine the information from the spatial dimensions, with that of the spectral information. The model developed during the PhD is targeted at fitting unresolved point sources, in integral field spectroscopic data (data with three dimensions: x and y are spatial, and wavelength (z axis)). This model improves the accuracy and reliability of fitting only the source's flux, while not being contaminated by background noise. 
Type Of Material Data analysis technique 
Year Produced 2020 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact N/A 
 
Title Fornax3D Planetary Nebulae Catalouge: MUSE emission residual cubes 
Description The residual data cubes that contain the residual emission lines, focused on the [OIII] 5007 Angstrom region, resulting from passing MUSE data cubes through the GIST pipeline ( < v.2). Header contains all the information to run in the MUSE_PNe_fitting pipeline, which was developed to run on these residual data cubes. The full MUSE cubes can be obtained from the ESO data portal. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2021 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact This is the data set that was used to formulate all the research goals and findings of my eventual PhD thesis. 
URL https://zenodo.org/record/5101484#.YjD5ijXLcuU
 
Description Fornax3D team 
Organisation European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Country Germany 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Many of the members of the Fornax3D team are members of the ESO. The data that is used for the PhD is from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, which is owned by ESO. I have travelled the ESO headquarters in Garching, Germany to give a talk to the team in the first year.
Collaborator Contribution Members of the Fornax3D team have offered useful insights into the background physics of my projects, as well as supplying corrections and advice for the first (in prep) article.
Impact Over the period of the PhD, I have worked with a few of the team members, and their respective students, to improve and apply my approach to detecting Planetary Nebulae in MUSE Integral Field Spectroscopic Unit data. I have also been contributed to two published articles; one as a co-author, and one where I was acknowledged for comments / figures supplied.
Start Year 2017